The NFL's Free Speech Double Standard
The American Veterans group is criticizing the NFL after their decision not to air the their "Please Stand" advertisement during this year's Super Bowl. The NFL has run politically charged ads in the past, but only ones that reflect the organization's viewpoint.
It was reported that the NFL offered to air the advertisement if they changed their message from "Please Stand" to something less controversial like "Please Honor Our Veterans" or "Please Stand for Our Veterans." However, American Veterans' national commander, Marion Polk, called the offer "reprehensible and totally beyond the pale." Polk said that "we decided that we were not going to change our ad. We placed it as 'Please Stand,' and under the first Amendment we have the right to do that."
The NFL has aired political ads before, including ones that feature a sympathetic view of immigrants coming to America. An 84 Lumber ad, in particular, aired during last year's Super Bowl 51, showed a mother and daughter crossing the border. As you can imagine, this was met with a great amount of disapproval from the viewers that find illegal immigration to be a great problem in America today. You can see the clear double standard here, since the NFL rejects a paid ad by the American Veterans group because it was "too political," while accepting controversial, politically-driven ads on illegal immigration.
In the end, the NFL is a private business entity that makes their own rules, and cannot be charged with violating the group's first Amendment Rights. However, this means that we can use our First Amendment rights to protest or boycott the NFL's decision to politicize the game.
